Barrister Profile

Main Areas of Practice

Coroners or Inquests
Criminal Law
Human Rights
Personal Injury

Biography

I was called to the Bar of Northern Ireland in 1991 and my main interests since that point, both in terms of practice and academic research profile, have been in the fields of human rights and policing. I am currently engaged as Counsel to the Senior Coroner for Northern Ireland in a series of high profile legacy inquests, which currently occupy my full time practice.

Qualifications

Ph.D, Human Rights and Policing

LL.M, Human Rights, Emergency Law and Discrimination

BA (1st Class) (Hons) English and French

Law Senior Law Lecturer, University of Ulster

Former Chair, Committee on the Administration of Justice

Former Chair and convenor, Amnesty International,

Lawyers’ Section NI Former Member of An Garda Siochana

Commissioner National Strategic Human Rights Advisory Committee

Legal Advisor to Bill of Rights Forum Working Group addressing Victims and Criminal justice

Range of Human rights Consultancy and Training provision eg Course Provider, Law Society Advanced Evidence Course, PSNI Human Rights Training for Trainers, Garda Human Rights Training for Senior managers

Experience

My specialist experience is in conflict legacy work. This is informed by an extensive academic research background and a range of human rights consultancy work over the past two decades. My current work in relation to the Stalker/Sampson series of Legacy Inquests draws extensively on expertise gained in a range of settings in and outside of legal practice.

Publications

Books:

Human Rights on Duty - Principles for Better Policing: International Lessons for Northern Ireland (1997) (Co-Author)

Preventing Ideological Violence: Communities, Police and Case Studies of ‘Success’ (Palgrave Macmillan, New York, 2013) (Co-editor and contributor)

Identities in Transition Paige Arthur (ed)

Policing the Narrow Ground John Doyle (ed)

Northern Ireland after the Conflict (Coulter and Murray (eds)